BY MAY SWENSON Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
How will it be
to lie in the sky
without roof or door
and wind for an eye
With cloud for shift
how will I hide?
The Dead Christ with Angels
Édouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
Analysis
This poem asks what will happen when the soul leaves the body. Swenson wants to know what the soul will do after death. The body acts as shelter or a vessel for the soul, and being forced out of it makes the soul completely exposed, which makes the freedom of floating among the clouds almost a setback.
Questions
What does the animal imagery represent?Why is weather/nature mentioned?How literal is the poem? (Is it actually about a flea? Or is that part of its symbolism?)
Biography
May Swenson lived from 1913 to 1989. She spoke both Swedish and English. Her family was Mormon and she was the first of 10 children. In 1936, she was a ghostwriter and editor for a guy she called Plat, and she kind of wanted to have a child with him and sort of had some relationship with him. Wikipedia insists that "but I would not like to be married to any man, but only be myself" means she was a lesbian and that her Mormon immigrant family did not appreciate that. She won numerous awards for her poetry, worked as an editor for a publisher, and also was Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1980 until her death in 1989. She even went to Utah State University. A major influence of hers was Edgar Allen Poe.
Question
BY MAY SWENSONBody my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
How will it be
to lie in the sky
without roof or door
and wind for an eye
With cloud for shift
how will I hide?
Analysis
This poem asks what will happen when the soul leaves the body. Swenson wants to know what the soul will do after death. The body acts as shelter or a vessel for the soul, and being forced out of it makes the soul completely exposed, which makes the freedom of floating among the clouds almost a setback.Questions
What does the animal imagery represent?Why is weather/nature mentioned?How literal is the poem? (Is it actually about a flea? Or is that part of its symbolism?)Biography
May Swenson lived from 1913 to 1989. She spoke both Swedish and English. Her family was Mormon and she was the first of 10 children. In 1936, she was a ghostwriter and editor for a guy she called Plat, and she kind of wanted to have a child with him and sort of had some relationship with him. Wikipedia insists that "but I would not like to be married to any man, but only be myself" means she was a lesbian and that her Mormon immigrant family did not appreciate that. She won numerous awards for her poetry, worked as an editor for a publisher, and also was Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1980 until her death in 1989. She even went to Utah State University. A major influence of hers was Edgar Allen Poe.